Two for the price of one (letters that is)

Part of the Easter decor set up by Millie

As usual this blog is later than I had hoped! Unfortunately I am unable to offer any valid excuses and have unlimited admiration for the Whitby's who manage unerringly to write every day of their life in Astania!Also,  Unlike  them,  we are now counting down rather than up and are now in the 70s. (days that is until we come home). Like them, however we can understand many of their frustrations and difficulties in living in a completely different country and culture but, hopefully we have learnt a lot over the past two and a half years!


A full house at 1 BD at Easter.

The churches here are doing well and we had an utterly amazing time at Easter when all three congregations came together for a "camp" at 1BD. The church vehicle really came into its own, valiantly driven by Diva, transporting people from Mazwi and Hamara. On the Saturday morning Mike and Taurai both preached amazingly,unlocking the real meaning of the cross. The catering team then did a great job by feeding 250 people with a veritable feast of sausages, rice and veggies all cooked over a fire! In the afternoon there were games for all the family. Talent  unfolded in a variety of races and games. Several people were upended in the sack races and good manners vanished when each congregation was challenged to undertake "chair ball"!! Its untrue to  say it was vicious, but very few survived...Ugly indeed!

Diva setting the standard in the sprint race

The last session of the day was led by Dave and it was a powerful time of the Holy Spirit meeting people and setting them free.


One of the sack races gets underway

The day ended with supper and a film for those sleeping at the building. We had three girls with their babies and two men from Mazwi staying with us. Two spoke very good English and we had a great time getting to know them. The three girls insisted on sharing a room with their children. There is only one double bed in the room so we are not sure how they managed but they are used to sharing and there was  an unprecedented amount of giggling going on. Especially when they tried the shower!(the first time for two of them!) They said it was like hot rain but didn't ask for an umbrella!
On Easter Sunday Taps preached and again it was a great time with our versatile worship team doing a great job.

The worship team taking a lead

 The whole weekend served as a valuable occasion to establish a deeper sense of  unity amongst the three congregations and  was a great opportunity for people to serve.



X leading the guys in a song and dance. Obi, Zenzo's son loved it!

May 1st is Workers Day and a public holiday in Zim, so we felt it appropriate to ask all of Dave's workers and their families to our house for a braai.Obviously the men are well known to us but we had never met one or two of the wives. They felt very uneasy at first but soon relaxed and started to have fun. A guitar appeared and the men were urged (they didn't take much urging) to entertain us with some singing. The variety of dancing (especially from Dave) was unusual to say the least!


Then it was the ladies turn..Shyness vanished as we outdid them with our moves!! I'm fairly sure that both of these days will rank amongst some of the most unforgettable of our time in Zim.



Two tremendous weeks!

Tears flowed when we dropped Graham and Beth at the airport, but we've had a terrific time with them over the last two weeks. We talked non stop and tried to fit in as much as possible.                                                                          Here Graham and Beth are travelling in style in the back of the truck to visit Hamara Farm where
Thembalezizwe has a five grade school.
Grahams tell-tale red nose after a few days of this testified to the fact that not all the days were cloudy and they saw plenty of sun..... Beth really enjoyed her time at E.C.D. and was a great help. On her last day the children sang theirThursday song...... "Thursday is our special day, special day,special day Thursday is our special day, its Aunty Beths special day! (sung to the tune of London Bridge is falling down). She had to sit in the middle of the circle while the children talked about why they liked her. Apparently she plays nicely, laughs a lot and doesnt hit others!! We are very grateful for Graham and Belindas parenting skills!!
We had a really lovely time when we went to visit Pastor Peter a friend of Tope the leader of Jubilee Church, Enfield and a great friend of Grahams. Peter pastors a large church and also runs a family centre. He and his wife, Georgina laid on an tantalizing spread  for us at their home in Bulawayo. What a lovely couple!




Tendai and baby Nesia
 

Taurai and Tendai have been blessed with a beautiful baby girl called Nesia (miracle!) born on Thursday the 27th. So far, Makanaka (2) is very taken with his little sister but he also he often totters into school and sits down with the children and is no trouble at all!

Graham preaching at Hamra with Simanga translating

The first Sunday Graham was here we had a joint meeting with all three congregations. A real time of celebration and it was great to all be together. The next time the churches will all be together will be for our Easter Camp! Each congregation will have its own meeting on Good Friday and then all get together on Saturday for seminars and sport activities. People from out of town will then "camp" overnight. Men in the childrens shelter and ladies/ kids in the church building! Should be fun!!! We, of course, will return to our warm bed.

 Camping with Graham and Beth in Hwange with a lion prowling outside has decidedly put me off camping in tiny tents for good!! A very traumatic, terrifying experience, NOT to be repeated!! But thats another tale....

Surprising supply of snakes!!

Yes, I had a scary surprise one starlit evening when Dave was out! (No he wasn't down the pub. He wishes!!!) The dogs alerted me to a snake slithering through the garden. Nellie sneakily attacked it and smashed it around a bit. When I thought it was sufficiently smashed (all one and a half metres of it) I sprung on it with the long handled garden rake, spearing it several times! (Hope you are not too squeamish or eating your supper because it gets worse!) Little did I suspect that this snake would come in so handy..

Dave with the fish and snake and Nicky screaming!

When I staggered in from Kidz klub on Saturday, I was to discover some of it in the freezer! (thankfully stored in a plastic bag!) Dave had secured its demise by chopping it up when he got home and found Id been such a superstar! His sermon on Sunday was from Luke 11 and apparently he needed bread, a snake, eggs, fish and a scorpion. Eggs and fish I can do but I wasn't about to supply a scorpion! There was nothing in my contract about that so he had to be satisfied with a picture. You should have heard the screams when he surreptitiously produced the rapidly thawing and smelly snake from his box of tricks.
On a more salutary note - Security here has become more of a concern of late. There have been one or two stabbings of people out jogging near us and once a year the President releases some prisoners from jail. So... there has been a severe rise in armed robberies and violent crimes. Even the locals feel unsafe and wont walk out at night. We are also aware of many scams going on at the moment and we have to be wise as serpents to avoid being stung!
There has been a great deal of publicity lately about the corruption that pervades society here. I know it is everywhere but here it is sickeningly common and quite accepted as the norm!



The children brought grass from home for
Gods blanket before we planted the seeds

This maize is amazing!



picking the cobs

The school has been a busy place this week as we admitted 20 more children and
snack time at school has been very super as we have snatched, stripped, steamed, served and swallowed the maize we grew in our ECD garden. 

serving up the cooked mealies.

The new children are so sweet... Most have never seen so many toys. The older children have been very caring and helpful towards them too.


Yum, Yum!

Everyone looks so smart in their new T shirts. (including the teachers). Smart and Smiley is the only way to describe them all! They have settled into the school routine surprisingly well...... so far so good.  So its so long from me and goodbye from him. (you know who I mean... The someone, snoring serenely in the room next door)                                                                                       

and the back view



The new class with Ma Phiri...

Record rain recorded!

Running water at Hillside
 

After years of praying for rain the prayers have been answered at last! There has been more rainfall this summer than there has been for many, many years. The popular local reason being that the statue of Joshua Nkomo ( a man greatly revered in Matabeleland) has at last been reinstated in the middle of the city! The water levels in the dams are rising and there was 95 mm recorded just last night where we live. This is a real blessing to those who planted maize this year. The congregation at Mazwi (Used to be St Peters) have been very blessed as they have received free seed and have planted their plots, largely through the efforts of Graham and Sarah who lead the church there.  Of course there is a reverse side to the story too.....

Water at Hillside Dams

For the people who reside in the shacks and the poor houses near the church building ramrods of rain is a mixed blessing as the families then live in a sea of mud under leaky roofs, with no way to get clothes dry. These families take great pride in keeping their children clean and well turned out and in these conditions it is a real struggle. I really don't know how they do it! The reality too is that it is a breeding ground for sickness.
Also.... producing vegetables in these conditions is a reckless pastime! Cabbages have drowned, tomatoes are ravaged by disease and weeds are rampant! Working conditions on the church site are also reaching radically difficult proportions as it is heavy clay on the site so the men stomp about in wellies caked with about 6 inches of mud. Very tiring work, for little reward. They are  always cheerful and positive, though and there is a great team spirit among them.
Its amazing to me how quickly you miss the sun! Perhaps God is preparing us for our return to British weather but we hope the sun reappears soon.


One of the children starting ECD in March
 outside her home.

I have realised afresh, recently, the challenges faced by many people here as I have been home visiting the children on the waiting list for ECD, with Samu and Maphiri, two of the teachers who are on training at the moment. We met a Mum who has 6 children but looked so young herself. When I asked Samu about her she told me she had her first child at aged 11, and this is not unusual amongst girls who have not been to school. Like many in these circumstances, she could not even write her name. This encounter served to reaffirm to me just how vital education is as a means of changing lives and giving people hope. Its hard not to react with rage at a system that discriminates against the poor who cannot afford to send their children to school! Not only are the parents required to provide uniform but also books, pens, chalks,floor polish, photocopy paper, levies, fees, teacher incentives, money for building funds... the list goes on! We just don't realise how blessed we are in the UK!


L to R Florah, Katie, Maita,(taps and Florahs oldest)
Nikki,Dolly, Noma

On a social note. We were very pleased to welcome Dolly back to Zim for a visit, after having been studying in Holland for just over a year. She attained a scholarship to study for an MA for 18 months. She was glad to get back to her husband and son for a few weeks and we had a farewell party for her just before she returned a couple of weeks ago. She will be back for good at the beginning of May. What a brave lady to go to a foreign country with all the cultural and weather differences and leave her family behind!Respect and empathy received from us !!!!

Me with Maita and Rutendo

Well, it is rumoured that another rumbustious storm is about to break. Rumbles are again rending the skies above the house. Soon rip roaring flashes will ravage the heavens and rock the foundations and "Raindrops keep falling on my head" because the roof leaks. At this point, there are two things to do... Open the door to a r-e-a-l-l-y radically terrified Izzy, so she can rush to hide under the table (great guard dog, that!) and then shut off the internet so that it doesnt blow up again.
Ready, steady..

Quite difficult Q

Happy New Year!

 

To all our friends and readers. Thank you so much for your prayers, financial support and messages.

Don't quit quite yet!!

 

A quick catch up at the beginning of a New Year. Well Christmas was quite different from any other we have ever had. 

54 kids at Trenance enjoyed the party and food afterwards

We started to get quietly festive with the children's parties for Kidz Klub and Sunday school kids at both Hamara and Trenance the week before. For some, it was possibly the first party they had ever experienced. We played all the traditional games ( a few quibbles about who won, as normal, and that's just the adults!!) and then ended with food which is always a hit.
A queer Christmas morning was spent tidying up some of our vast garden and skyping our quality children and grandchildren. There were lots of questions from us, quizing them about who got what, did Danny get his two front teeth and the quantity of sweets Jess had managed to eat before 10am. ? No question, she is her father's daughter! It was lovely to see the family enjoying each other's company, but made us miss them even more!
At midday we went to spend the rest of the day with our lovely friends, Mark and Heather who produced a magnificent, quality lunch. No quibble it was the best meal I've had all year. Lamb with enormous quantities of veg.We quenched our thirst (it was a very hot day) by quaffing quantities of beer and wine and quietly quivered with mirth while watching highlights of Morecambe and Wise! A lovely time all round.

Dave's poses by the falls. Such a cool dude!

On Boxing Day, Dave and I managed to escape for a few days. He had been very busy up to Christmas delivering vegetables to the supermarkets and getting up very early. So off we went to Vic Falls. We found a very quiet place to stay and apart from visiting a crocodile farm we were able to just put our feet up and have quality time together.


Taurai, Dave and Diva showing their moves!!

Last night, New Years Eve was a night of prayer for the three congregations. It was a really great time of fun, fellowship, worship and of course prayer. Dave did a preach on Joshua which was very powerful and the Holy Spirit was very evident. By 4am I was ready for my quilt! It was nearer 5 by the time we had dropped everyone home and we got to bed for a couple of hours sleep.
So hope all this makes sense! We have been gardening again this morning but the weather is very wet. A quantity of quality rains have come on time this year which has been a real blessing to those who have planted maize. The only trouble is 1BD is now  a quagmire! We quip that poor Taurai and Tendai will soon start quacking! 

So its you who keeps us awake at night!!

To quote our quite quirky friend Caroline "Oh my word!!"Look who I met in the garden this morning. His ugliness made me feel quite queezy! We also had to kill another snake outside the back door last night which left me quaking and quivering but I was the one who chopped it in pieces using the hoe!! So now I'm the queen of snake killers!!
Well I must quit for now as there are a queue of other jobs to be done and I still have to add in the photos. Wishing you all, God's blessings in 2014 and a whole lot of fun.....


A proliferation of "P" words...

As you all prepare for picturesque snow and roaring fires we are putting up umbrellas and using sunscreen! Predictably it makes it very difficult to feel Christmassy! Even the presence of pretty trees, decorations and even the odd snowman, doesn't seem to produce the right effect. Perhaps its just us because everyone else seems excited about a holiday.Most people don't give or receive presents as they are too poor, but Christmas is a time for families to get together which is, perhaps, how it should be. It does mean that the site at 1BD is very busy planting and selling produce for the Christmas market. Things have really turned around this month, so Dave has only had to lay one man off! Praise God.

The children waiting for the performance to start!

Handa's Surprise and Handa's Hen display

The Rainbow Fish display
 

We had a great Parent's open day at E.C.D. last week . Preparation was hard work as we wanted to display paintings, printing and pictures that the children had done throughout the year as well as photographs. The children also performed for the parents and every child was presented with a personalised certificate celebrating their progress and achievements by the pastor's wife, Florah. The parents were suitably proud and so were we! They sang their songs and recited their rhymes beautifully producing a tear or two at times.
Dave has been preaching a lot lately so it was nice last Sunday to have a relaxing day without the pressure. I am running Kidz Klubs every Saturday as well so we sometimes feel a bit pooped! Both Kidz Klubs have been going so well, though. It was thrilling, a few weeks ago, to see the kids at Hamara performing what they had been learning at Kidz Klub in the Sunday morning service .


The new Jungle Gym in progress

The children's paintings

The other great
development is the play area paid for by West Rise Infant School , my wonderful sister  and "Inspire". Thank you all so much. The kids love it, Previously there has been  nothing else like it here! in fact there is nothing for the children and young people of Trenance to do at all. We are pleased to see the number of young people attending the church growing all the time, though. The next step might be to make a soccer pitch for them.??

Nearly done!

 

Children praying at Hamara Kidz Klub

Please pray for the  church leadership here as we face continual challenges. This has probably been Mike and Taurai's most difficult year. (no not because of us, we hope!) We are also becoming more painfully aware of God's purposes in bringing us here at such a time. Thank you to all those who pray for us as we couldn't survive without it! Personal phone calls, skype contact and emails are what keep us perky! We can't profess to being happy about being here for Christmas as we will miss family and friends so much but perhaps we can find some half decent cheese and some sweets and add on a few pounds as normal!

Obviously, O

Brad Ruth and Ethan

We were overjoyed recently to meet up again with our "old" friends Brad and Ruth with their little six month old, Ethan. They had to leave Zim last December and the one thing that overshadowed the trip here was that it was to say final goodbyes to friends as they won't be back. The friends they stayed with while here have also been ousted this week!. We will soon be the only ones left!

We did manage to grab a couple of nights away with them, though. We visited Great Zimbabwe, a National Heritage site, which was very interesting, although the weather was very English while we were there.





Some of the walls in the mist.

This ruined city is the largest stone structure ever built south of the Sahara and occupies a large area. It is not really odd that occasionally we like to do something educational! They are dry stone walls and enormously thick and, in Dave's opinion, more impressive than Pevensey Castle. We also went to the game park nearby and were overwhelmed to see a whole host of rhino. (A crash of rhino I'm led to believe)

Amazing rhino, dehorned to protect them from poachers

Obviously that was a bit of a highlight as many people who have grown up here have never seen one rhino, let alone ten. They didn't seem overly  bothered by us so came outrageously close and we were able to stay in the open to watch.



Some of the guests at the celebration

It was an outstanding occasion when Edmund, the chicken out grower, and his wife Ruth invited all the leaders of the church to a celebration meal. Local people do not ordinarily do such things but they wanted to thank everyone for their help and support and to thank God for their changed lives. It was an occasion of great celebration and overflowing gratitude. They are now able to support themselves and their youngest son will soon be off to university.



Lots of smiles. Or are they laughing at you darling?

Dave is having more and more input into the church leadership. This includes showing them his outstanding soccer skills. (He scored the first goal) Mike the elder at Hamara Farm congregation hosted a braai for the leaders and trainee leaders of Thembalezizwe and as they are obsessed with soccer out here, it seemed a good way to get the men interacting. Naturally the game was a bit one sided and the Trenance team won by a mile. (or should that be smile).
Overcast skies and the occasional shower has been typical of the weather this week, so we hope the outlook is good for outbursts of proper rains soon. We have had some outrageously violent thunderstorms occurring too!
Okay, I'd better end here. Oops, forgot to say, we are fine, pressing and onwards, trying to overcome the many obstacles as best we can. So from us, until the next overrated blog,  its over and out!
(acknowledgements to Julliette Farrer for many O words to help my tired brain!)